Electroplating & Electrolessplating

[belwar]

Hey everyone,

I've been working on making some humbucker slugs out of various materials. Like most I am currently using the allparts/stewmac bobbins, but I am not happy with the fit of off-the-shelf slugs. I also want to test several aloys to find the best one for my needs.

I cannot do accurate tests without the nickel plating. I've been humming and hawing over doing it myself, and I know a few people here have done it; thus im seeking insight. Have you found it cost effective to nickel plate on your own? What does it cost to send out parts for plating? If you do plate your own do you use the electroplating kit with a power supply or the electroless plating. Is there anywhere that you can recommend to buy cheap supplys or any good FAQ's you can point me to?

Any insight or help is appriciated. Please remember this is for SMALL batches.

[Dave Kerr]

I bought one of the cheapo wall-wart type units and can't say that I'd recommend going that route, though other seem to have been more satisfied than me. I'd suggest shopping it out if the price is reasonable, especially if you'd be looking for consistent, professional results.

[Joe Gwinn]

Hey everyone,

I've been working on making some humbucker slugs out of various materials. Like most I am currently using the allparts/stewmac bobbins, but I am not happy with the fit of off-the-shelf slugs. I also want to test several aloys to find the best one for my needs.

I cannot do accurate tests without the nickel plating. I've been humming and hawing over doing it myself, and I know a few people here have done it; thus im seeking insight. Have you found it cost effective to nickel plate on your own? What does it cost to send out parts for plating? If you do plate your own do you use the electroplating kit with a power supply or the electroless plating. Is there anywhere that you can recommend to buy cheap supplies or any good FAQ's you can point me to?

Any insight or help is appreciated. Please remember this is for SMALL batches.

Your best bet is Caswell. They are not cheap, but they have very good stuff and well written instructions. You can get the instructions without buying anything. Trying to get cheap supplies isn't worthwhile for small quantities, especially if quality matters. http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/.

[Mike Sulzer]

I have used the Caswell electroless nickel plating kit for a few tailpiece parts, etc. It works fine; you have to heat the solution, of course, but the kit comes with heater and thermometer.

[belwar]

I have used the Caswell electroless nickel plating kit for a few tailpiece parts, etc. It works fine; you have to heat the solution, of course, but the kit comes with heater and thermometer.

So overall you were satisfied with the quality?

What did you do to clean the parts before hard?

Did the heater have a thermostat?

[Diablo]

Years ago, I used to be a TA in a plating class. Nickel is one of the easier metals to plate. But, if it were me, I'd look for a plating company because for a batch of small parts, they can just throw them in a drum to plate. It should be dirt cheap if they are set up to plate small parts.

[belwar]

There is one company down the street from me that charges a minimum order of 75 bucks.. a little to rich for a few sets of test slugs

[Possum]

....

I got one of the pen platers from Caswell, they are ok for doing real small batches but realize when you plate the stuff on it comes out as dull grey unpolished nickel. If you try to polish it with a buff or something it will just come right off. You'd have to polish it in a tumbler with stainless steel tumbling media and doubt you'd ever get professional results in the end. The metal really has to be totally clean, mostly I just plate the ends where they are cut since thats all that shows. And you're right, raw cut stock isn't going to sound like plated and tumble polished pieces. I don't really know for sure how they polish but I assume its tumble polish, if you find out anything about that let me know, because tumble polishing is a HARDENING process as well. I only have my jewelry making background to call on, I used to polish sterling silver that way and it hardened the silver which was a good thing.

[David King]

I have my nickel plating done locally and the minimum is $35, or at least it used to be. The what they do is bright nickel and it looks like a million bucks when they are done with it. All the tiny scratches disappear. I don't think they buff at all but I can't say that for sure. I specify the thickness and they leave it in the vat for the appropriate amount of time. As to cleaning, you could get a cheap ultrasonic cleaner and use the specified detergent solution. If the parts are real rough then you'll want a vibratory de-burring machine (rock polisher). HF has em for about $40 for cleaning brass cartridges to reload. Different media do different things from plastics to ceramics.

[Possum]

...

maybe a bright plate IS how they are polished, I"m sure its a tumbling procedure, they probably don't just sit there while being plated...

[Mike Sulzer]

So overall you were satisfied with the quality?

What did you do to clean the parts before hard?

Did the heater have a thermostat?

Yes, the quality was great; the key to success is to polish the parts before you plate as if they are already plated in their final form. That is, no scratches. Then not much polishing is needed after plating.

This nickel plating can turn dark from hand contact after a few years. It is not equivalent to chrome plating (which probably would have nickel underneath in any case.)

I used the strongest degreaser I could find at a local auto parts store. The Caswell instruction book that you have to buy with your first kit comes with suggestions (that I did not follow exactly in the cleaning stage because I could not find what they wanted me to use).

No thermostat with my kit, just a thermometer for manual control.

[salvarsan]

a caution

You will need to dispose of the chemicals when you are done.
Give some thought to how you will neutralize them first.

-drh

[Mike Sulzer]

You will need to dispose of the chemicals when you are done.
Give some thought to how you will neutralize them first.

-drh

The Caswell kit has a neutralizer and instructions for disposal.

[jonson]

bright nickel

There is no difference in the polishing for nickel or bright nickel. the finish depends on how well the job is polished in the first place. The difference comes in the tank' as an organic brightner is added to the to the tank to achieve the brightness. It has it's drawbacks in as much as bright nickel is much more brittle and is therefore prone to flaking and chipping. I know nothing about tumbleing as I do all my work on a 12inch 6000rpm buffing wheel and the finish achieved tells me what the finish plate will be.